CHE 113
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY
A Very Brief Overview
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Forensic Anthropology
Brief Overview
•Defined as “the field of study that deals with the analysis
of human skeletal remains resulting from unexplained
deaths.”
•Often done in a legal context
•An applied science
•Five subdisciplines:
•1. Biological, or physical anthropology
•2. Archaeology
•3. Cultural anthropology
•4. Linguistics
•5. Applied anthropology
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Forensic Anthropology
Goal: Biological Profile
Includes:
1. General Description
2. Sex of decedent
3. Age of decedent
4. Ancestry of decedent
5. Stature of decedent
6. Assessment of trauma
(ante-, peri-, post mortem)
7. Pathologies noted
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Osteology: study of skeletal remains
Each bone studied INDIVIDUALLY
206 Skeletal Bones (total)
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Osteology: study of skeletal remains
Each bone studied INDIVIDUALLY
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Osteology
Human bone –vs- Animal bone
Macroscopic differences
Radiology
Observation
Measurement
Microscopic differences
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Osteology
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Osteology
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Macroscopic differences
Baboon femur
Human femurCHE 113 9
Microscopic differences
human
Spongy bone
mouse
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Osteology
Radiographs
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Information from skeletal remains
Sex of decedent
Skull
Hip bone
Femur
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Information from skeletal remains
Sex of decedent
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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Information
from skeletal
remains
Sex of decedent
MALE OR FEMALE
SKELETON?
(a) IS FEMALE and
(b) IS MALE
Handout
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Male
Information
from skeletal
remains
Sex of decedent
MALE OR FEMALE
SKELETON?
(a) IS FEMALE and
(b) IS MALE
Female
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Information from skeletal remains
Sex of decedent
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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What can we learn from skeletons?
Age at Death
Hip bone most useful for adults
Estimate given as a range
(30 – 35 yrs old)
Teeth: Erupted or Not?
Epiphyses: fused or unfused?
Auricular surface
Pubic symphysis
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Age at Death
Long Bone Development
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Age at Death
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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Age at Death
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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Odontology – Forensic Dentistry
Teeth also studied
Deciduous –vs- Permanent
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Forensic Dentistry
• At the scene of the crime, odontologists collect the skull or
remaining teeth, which are taken back to the forensic
laboratory for the postmortem dental investigation. X-rays
are taken and if the jaw is completely intact and the dental
records used to compare are recent, the
job of
proving a match is a relatively simple
one. Dentists mark on a chart the position of missing
teeth, crowns, bridges, fillings, caps, root canals and
various other treatments during a patient's routine checkup. The
task of identifying a victim is
made more difficult when the dentist
records and x-rays are out of date or
when the skull is severely damaged and CHE
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Age at Death
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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Use of Forensic Dentistry
Forensic odontologists or in other words, forensic
dentists, have the job of examining dental
evidence that is left behind after a crime has been
committed. Teeth are an excellent source of
identification, as they hard wearing and durable. With
the ability to survive fires that destroy
evidence, burn human bones to ashes and melt
copper and glass, teeth are able to withstand
criminal's attempts to hide the crimes they've
committed and the evidence held within the crime scene
and dental analysis provides a cost efficient alternative to
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solving a crime.
Ted Bundy’s Teeth
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Epiphyses - A part of bone separated from the main
body of the bone by a layer of cartilage and
subsequently uniting with the bone through further
ossification
Unfused = juvenile
Fused = adult
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Spine
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More info from skeletal remains
ANCESTRY of decedent
Difficult determination to make
Facial bones most important
Nasal aperture
Teeth
Interorbital space
Mandible
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Stature estimate
Measure long bone(s) available
Plug in value to formula
Range established for stature of decedent
5’ 2” – 5’ 5”
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Other information
TRAUMA and PATHOLOGIES
Ante- mortem
Post-mortem
Peri-mortem
Gunshot
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Trauma
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Individual Identification
Person identified when it
was found that the amalgam
used in her dental
restorations was of a type
found only in specific areas
on the Eastern Coast of the
United States.
Habitual activity can wear away the
protective, cartilagenous lining which
reduces friction in joints. The humerus in
this photograph were in contact for many
years prior to this individual's death. The
surfaces are smooth and shiny, indicating
that the joint capsule and cartilage had worn
away, allowing bone on bone contact in the
cavity.
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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Individual Identification
Dental implants, braces, and
other types of dental work
are often recovered with a
body and are extremely
useful in identification
because they are so unique
to the individual and are
well detailed in antemortem
radiographs and medical
records.
Healed fracture on the sternal end of a
midthoracic rib. The area within the red
brackets is the site of injury. Note the more
porous appearance of the bone in this area this is woven bone.
http://medlib.med.utah.edu/kw/osteo/forensics/sasta.html
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Case Study
From Prof. Ann Bunch
SUNY Oswego
September 1999 Tourist Aircraft Crash on the Big Island of Hawaii
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
Piper Aircraft with 9 passengers, 1 pilot
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
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Aircraft’s path prior to crash & location of crash
Big Island Aircraft Crash
NTSB determination of cause = pilot error
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
Document remains
present
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
X-ray all remains/
Possible remains
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
Personal effects and
identification
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
Identification “by
exclusion”
Osteoarthritis
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
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Big Island Aircraft Crash
Sorting out commingling
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Other Types of Evidence
Wreckage fragments
Wreckage in situ
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Race Determination Activity
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